Steam-engine.



1. MARCH. STEAM ENGINE. APPLICATION FILED MAR.3,19091 Patefited June 28, 1910.

2 SEEETS-QHEET 1.

3, MARCH TEAM ENGINE. APPLIGATIGN FILED mums, 190s.

Patanted Ji113e28,1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

. "I V W indcr ll and the piston C struction mounted between the heads 6' and JOHN Manon, or. DILLON, vionrana.

STEAM-ENGINE. I

Specification or Letters Patent.

Application filed March 3, 1809. Serial No. 481,163.

To all whom it may concerwi:

Be it known that I, JOHN MARCH, a citi- ,zen of the United States, residing at Dillon in the county of Beaverhead and State of Montana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Steam -Engines, of

which the following is a specification.

My said invention consists in certain improvements in the construction and arrange-- ment of parts of steam engines of that par- .ticnlar type wherein the expansion takes place between two movable heads or pistons contained within the steam cylinder, and 111 two separate expansion chambers of different'areas, 'whereby such an engine is provided in which a double expansion of the steam is secured in the same cylinder, :1 perfeet balancing of the expansive force pro-- vided f0r, all the power of the steam utilized to the best advantage in the work, and the maximum amount of. steam power with the minimum amountof fuel is obtained, all as 4 will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

Referring to the accompanying drawings which are made a part hereof and on which similar reference characters indicate similar parts, Figure 1 is acentral horizontal section through an engine embodying my said improvements, Fig. 2 a central vertical section through the san'le on the dotted line 22 in Fig. 1, and [Fig 3 a similar View showing the pistons and other moving parts in a position, the reverse of that shown in Fig. 2.

In said drawings the portions marked A represent the bed or frame of the engine, B,

B the steam cylinders and C, C the pistons.

The frame A; is preferably a casting and of suitable form and dimensions to supportthe cIylindcrs, crank-shaft, and other parts of' ti e mechanism and needs no special description.

.As will he noted by reference to Fig. 1, the engine is a compound double expansion engine, comprising two cylinders-B and 13 located on opposite sides of the frame. Said cylinders are of equal diameter and ofa uniform bore throughout. The cylinder B is provided with sliding heads 3), b? and the cylinder B is provided. with similar sliding heads I), I).

The piston O is of a common mustl'llution' inountod between the heads I) and b of cylis of similar eon .ing heads are each I) in the cylinder B.

shown provided with metal packing rings in the' periphery, as is common.

The piston C has a piston-rod rigidly secured thereto which The large part c attends-through. a stuffing boxin thesliding head 6 and is adapted to extend to the end of the cylinders while the small part 0 extends from the large part and is connected to a sliding head 10 mounted in suitable ways in a part of the frame A, which in turn is connected by a pitman rod 11 to a crank 2 of the main crank-shaft 1. The 'piston' "rod at the point of its connection with the "piston C, and for that or-.

tion of its length which will at all pemods of the operation be within the sliding piston head 6', is of a diameter which will occupy approximately one-third to one halfi t area of the cylinder between the piston 0' and the piston head 6, for a purpose to be presently described, while for thereina inder of its length it is of only such dimension as may be necessary strength for the work. The large para-0, may be either hollow orsolid ,as preferred. The sliding piston head I) is rods 12 at each side thereof with a crosshead 13 which is mounted at each end' to slide in suitable Waysprovided in the sides of the frame A. Said cross' head 13 is formed with a perforation through which the smaller port-ion c of the is on rod extends. The sliding piston hea b is also connected by connecting rods 14 with a crosshead 15 mounted at each end to slide in longitudinal ways in the frame A and connected at each end by connecting rods 16 to crosshead 13, which is connected to sliding heads 17 by rods 16 and said sliding piston heads, in turn, are connected by )itmen 18 to cranks 3 and 4, respectively, 0 the crank-shaft 1. In a like manner the sliding piston head I) in cylinder B is connected to a slidin crosshead 19 by connecting rods 20 and t e sliding piston head I) is connected to a similar sliding cross-head 21 by connecting rods 22,-

the sliding cross-heads 19 and 21--bein connectcd together near each end The cross-head 19 is connected ing rods 23 with sliding heads 25, which are connected by pitman-rods '26 with the cranks 5 and 6, respectively, of the main crankshaft 1. The pistonC' in cylinder B is likewise provided wit a piston rod with a Patented June Zfi, 1910..

Said pistons and slid is of two diameters.-

to secure the required" connected by y to s 23. I liy connect-- large art a of large diameter to extend throng the sliding 1ston head I) and with a srna part c exten 'ng to the sliding head 27, which is connected by the pitman-rod 28 with the crank 7 on the main crank-shaft 1. The piston 0 extends through a perforation incross-head 19, and the piston rod 0 through a like perforation incross head 13.- 1

Each cylinder B and B is provide d with a steam inlet drt 30, leading into its high pressure cham er, an exhaust port 31 leading from said hi h ressure chamber, an inlet port 32 leading into the low pressure .chamber and =an' exhaust port 33 leading from the low pressure chamber. A steam chest '18 is mounted or formed on one side of the cylinderan'd another B on its oppo site side serves a by-pass from one side of the iston tothe othen' Said steam chest B? is ivided into two partsone' of which has a live steam supplypipe 6 connected therewith and the other anexhaust steam pipebk A sliding valve 35 is mounted in said steam chest connected by a connecting rod,36 to an operatingeccentric 37 on the main crank'shaftl, ffSaidsliding valve opcrates in a recess ih'the'body of the metal 'composing the steam chest separating the live and exhaust steam chambers therein, resting onthe side of the cylinder and adapted to cover and regulate the ports 30 and 33. 'A sliding valve 38 is mounted in steam chest B being held against the face.

of the -cylinder' .by a spring 39 and adapted to cover and regulate the ports 31 and 32.

. It is connected by 'a rod 40 with an operating eccentric 41 on the main crank-shaft 1.

In operation, the parts bein in the'p'osition shown in Fig". 2; and in t e lower half of Fig. 1, the steam-from the live steam su ply pipe com s through the port 4,2 in t e slidm valve35 to the narrow s ace between the pistonC and the sliding piston head I) in t ra cylinder B- and expands, driving said piston and sliding head in opposite directions.- It will be seen that as iston C is connected to the crank 2 of .t 0 main crank-shaft 1 through the piston rod 0, the slide 10 and the pltman rod "11, and the sliding piston head bxis connected to the cranks 3. and 4 respectively through the rods 3 12, cross heads 13, rods 16, sliding head 17 and pitm'an rods 18, and as the cranks 3 and 4 stand in aposition. opposite to the crank 2, that as the expansion takes place between the piston C and sliding piston head 6 its force isdirccted against said cranks of said 'crank-shaftto rotate it in its-bearings, the two cranks ullinghigainsteach other and serving to ba ance the steam prtssure, so that its force is exerted equally on opposite sides of the crank-shaft, one pitman 11 pu hing on its crank while the ther pitmer 18 are tellin 'crank 7 and that the cranks 5 and 6 'are at right angles with the. cranks 3 and 4, while the crank 7 is at right angles with the crank 2. Thus when the cranks 3 and 4 are in line with the crank 2 as shown in the drawings, which wouldbring the en 'ne B on a dead center, the cranks 5, 6 an 7 will'stand at right angles thereto in a position where their longestleverage is in play, thus bringing engine B. into position of greatest power at the time needed to carry engine'B over said dead center. It will thus be seen that throughout the entire revolution of crankshaft 1 the several cranks stand in such relation to each other that one-half the full power of'both cylinders is exerted on said shaft in one direction and the other half in the other direction, insuring an even and steady running of the engine with the strain perfectly balanced and the bearings of the shaft practically relieved of all unnecessary wear. As the steam ex ands inthe chamber between piston C an sliding piston head I) they'arenot only driven a art but the piston G and sliding piston head 2 are drawn toward each other through the connection of said piston head 6 with the frame, consisting of the cross-heads 13 and 15 and the rods 16, for as the piston head 6 is driven toward the end of the cylinder the piston head 5 will be drawn towardthe center of the cyl inder, forcing the spent steam out through the exhaust pipe I) and bringing the parts to the position shownin Fig. 3. When the parts have reached said position the eccentrics 37 and 40 have shifted the position of the sliding valves 35 and 38 to close ports 30 and33 and open the'ports31- and 32,-when the steam from the chamber between iston Cand piston head I will pass throng the steam chest B into the larger chamber between the piston C and the piston headb, where a second expansion-will take place, returnin the parts to the position shown in Fig. 2, t us securing a double expansion of steam in the same cylinder which is of a uniform diameter and bore throughout. its

length, the contracted area of the hi h exansion chamber being secured by tie enar 'cd diameter of the section 0 of the piston l'0( within said chamber. It will be understoo d that the operation just described for the cylinder B and parts connected therewith describes with equal accuracy the operation of' the cylinder B and the parts connectcd therewith except as to the time of the inlet and exhaust of the steam to the respective hi h pressure and low pressure chambers, wiich takes place hall "a: y between like periods in'the operation 1M engine B, as. Wlll be readily under- SiIOUl Having thus fully described my said in 'vention, What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A steam engine comprising a frame, a compound crankshaft-having a series of cranks extending in right angular directions to each other, a plurality of cylinders each containing sliding piston heads with a piston'between them, said piston heads connected to a sliding frame, said sliding frame connected. by a pitman to cranks of said crank-shaft, said piston, and apiston rod connected therewith and connected. to a crank of said crankshaft extending oppositely from the cranks to which said frame is connected, the piston and piston heads of one cylil'lder being connected to cranks which extend at right angles to those to Which the piston and piston heads of the other cylinder are connected, substantiallyv as set forth.

2. An engine comprisin a frame, a compound crank-shaft journaled in said frame with cranks extending at right angles to each other, a plurality of steam cylinders, sliding piston heads mounted in each of said steam cylinders, the piston heads of each cylinder being connected to a sliding frame, each of said frames connected by pitman-rods to cranks of said crank-shaft, the cranks to which one frame are connected extending at right angles to those to which the other frame are connected, a piston in each cylinder, a piston rod connected with each piston and connected to a crank on said crank-shaft, the crank to which one piston is thus coi'mectcd extend ing at right angles to the crank to which the other piston is connected, the steam regulating valves and means for operating them, substantially'as set forth. 4

In a steam engine,,the combination of a frame, in bear "LlilfilQHl, a steam c inder hating uniform diameter throughout its a compound crankshaft journaled I I r I i l I l the opposite ends of said cylinder, a

low expansion chamber, a

length, a sliding piston-head in each end of said cylinder, a sliding frame connected to each of said sliding piston heads and to cranks of said crank-shaft, a piston between said sliding piston heads in said cylinder, a piston rod connected with said piston and formed for a distance of a diameter to oc cupy a considerable portion of and contract the area of the expansion chamber on one side of said piston as compared With the area on its opposite side, a connection from said piston rod to a crank of said crankshaft, a steam chest, a valve therein for controlling the inlet and exhaust of the steam, another steam chest afiording a bypass from one side of the piston to the other, a valve therein, and means for operating said valves, substantially as set forth.

4. A steam engine comprising a frame, a compound crank-shaft, a steam cylinder, steam supply and regulating mechanism connected therewith, sliding piston heads in sliding piston between said piston heads, a cylinder connected to one side of said piston and extending through one of said piston. heads of a suflicient diameter to make the cham her on one side of said piston of smaller area and therefore a high expansion chamber while the chamber on its OJPOSltB side is of a larger area and there ore becomes a sliding frame c0nnected with said piston heads, a connection between said sliding shaft and. another connection between said piston and said crank-shaft, substantially as set forth.

In Witness whereof, I, have hereunto set my handand seal at Washington, D. this 26th day of February, A. D. nineteen hundred and niife. JOHN MARCH, L. s.] Witnesses:

E. Bnaoroao,

a. A. Peron.

frame and the crank 

